Thomas Ankersmit (born 1979 in Leiden, Netherlands, lives and works in Amsterdam and Berlin) is an
electronic musician and composer. He plays the Serge Modular synthesizer, both live and in the studio, and collaborates with artists like
Phill Niblock,
Kevin Drumm, and
Valerio Tricoli. His music combines intricate sonic detail and raw electric power, with an extremely physical and spatial experience of sound. Acoustic phenomena such as infrasound and otoacoustic emissions (sounds emanating from inside the head, generated by the ears themselves) play a central role in his work, as does a deliberate misuse of the equipment.
His work has been presented at Hamburger Bahnhof and KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Kunsthalle, Basel; Tate Modern, London;
Serralves Museum, Porto; MoMA PS1, New York; and at festivals for experimental and contemporary music all over the world. He's also lectured at universities like Harvard, Stanford, CalArts, and Goldsmiths. Ankersmit's music is released on the PAN,
Touch, and
Shelter Press labels.
